CFI releases and analysis from 2019:

The presidential candidates' first quarter financial numbers are in. Perhaps surprisingly, the candidates' total contributions do not look unusual when stacked up against historical counterparts and adjusted for inflation. However, the money from small-dollar donors is impressive. This could be an advantage for a candidate who does well in early states and has to raise money for Super Tuesday's colossal delegate haul on March 3.

Over the next several days, presidential candidates will be giving reporters selective previews of the bottom line numbers they will file with the Federal Election Commission on April 15th. These first quarterly (or Q1) reports will be the earliest campaign finance filings for the 2020 presidential election.

Campaign finance is high on the legislative agenda for the New York State Assembly and Senate in 2019. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget in January included proposals to create a small-donor matching fund system for state elections modeled after the successful one in New York City. The proposal would also reduce the state’s high contribution limits.